This year I would like to share with you about my journey as an ex-pat.

As a little girl, my dad always told me about all his travels and I grew up wanting to discover the world, to learn about new cultures and new languages.

English was the first door that I opened in school in Guatemala City. I learned American English; however I lacked confidence to talk in public. When I was 9 years old, I was in a shopping mall with my little sister and I can still remember vividly asking a security guard where the bathroom is. This simple question, open the world of communication for me. You see, everything in life is better if you try it. You can make drawings and plans, but until you don’t try even if you accent is not perfect then you keep practicing and your confidence grows.​

Now, I have been in England for nearly 8 years and I realized I had to learn English all over again. Words like colour and flavour sound better in a British Accent. I am learning how to pronounce “v” and “B” (accent is not so notorious in Spanish) and I could write a big list of words I have to think about saying and sometimes I get wrong.

In 1992, I had the opportunity to go to Lake Arthur as an exchange student and attend school. It was a big exchange program from Guatemala to Louisiana and I still keep in touch with my family on Facebook. I was an amazing time and we got to go to New Orleans and see Bourbon Street. There was so much to see and learn. I would like to encourage everybody to find opportunities like this, to build your book of life with great experiences and build your confidence.

​In 1993, I had the opportunity to travel to Minneapolis in Minnesota. I went with my best friend from Guatemala and it was an amazing month full of activities. We attended high school, we practiced English and we saw snow for the first time. It was so exciting, we were not prepared for everything to be cover overnight. For many, having seasons is the norm, for people living in the tropics, this is amazing!

My goal is to ski in real snow and enjoy being outsde when it is cold. I have learned to layer up and embrace carbohydrates.

​I am happy to say, this year I have been going outside, even in the dark and keeping active really helps not to feel like you want to hibernate.

Hope you have enjoyed a little bit of my experience and next time I will talk about my travels in sunny Brazil.

Author

Born in the country of "Eternal Spring". Traveller and CS at heart. Want to share my In love for Guatemala through travel experiences, food, events, articles & more!I lived in Brazil and Canada before relocating in England in 2009.